Title drive inspires Lafayette Jeff football

Lafayette Jeff head football coach Pat Shanley looks on as athletes take part in Game Day Domination workouts Tuesday, July 11, 2017, at Scheumann Stadium. The high-intensity workout builds strength, endurance and mental toughness as well as strengthens team bonds.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)Buy Photo

When the Bronchos left the league in the early 2000s and joined county rivals Harrison and McCutcheon in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, all three county schools found wins hard to come by in a league that included schools from the outskirts of Indianapolis.

Something else happened in that time, too.

When Jeff — along with Harrison and McCutcheon — joined the NCC three years ago, those schools had surpassed Jeff in football talent.

The Bronchos are done playing catch-up.

McCutcheon has won the NCC in two of the last three seasons, last year sharing the title with Kokomo and Harrison, which won its first conference crown in 20 years.

“Our guys want to be the team to beat in the conference and right now, it's Harrison, it's Kokomo and it's McCutcheon," second-year head coach Pat Shanley said. "We feel like we've put in the work and we're excited, but we haven't accomplished anything. Those are the big dogs and to be the top dog, you've got to beat the big dogs."

With a returning head coach, the Bronchos were able to hit the ground running in the offseason with the NCC title goal in mind.

“Us seniors, we want to leave behind something and a conference championship is something we are striving for,” said receiver Jay Segal, who last season attempted to block Harrison linebacker Keon Dillon and ended up breaking his nose in three places and missing half of the season.

Eighty percent of the roster showed up to at least 90 percent of the offseason voluntary workouts, another promising sign of the culture shift within the Bronchos.

“We don’t have to coach effort,” Shanley said. “Every day these guys are bringing their hard hat and coming to work. It’s important to them to take that next step as a program. We’ve upped everything we asked them to do this offseason.”

That has developed more than their football skills, players say.

“I think that made our mental approach a lot better and we are going to come out and take care of what we have to do … “ Segal said. “Everyone has gotten a lot smarter understanding the system. We don’t need Superman. Everyone is going to play their part. Everyone knows their role. We are going to play that role to the best of our ability.”

Contact high school sports reporter Sam King at sking@journalandcourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @samueltking